Wildfires and Climate Change

It’s the last day of school in France.
The temperature has reached 32°C.

This means beaches, rivers, ice cream — and fire risk.

Here, I’m going to look at wildfires.

🔥 How do wildfires start?

• 1 cigarette butt
• 1 campfire
• 1 lightning bolt
• 1 engine malfunction

• 1 act of arson

🌡️ Other contributing factors

• Drought
• Deforestation-related burning

• Fossil fuel production

📊 Wildfire statistics

• Nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced in Australian wildfires (June 2019 – February 2020).
• If global temperatures rise by 3°C, 15 million more people will face extreme fire-danger levels (EC).

🌍 Sources of climate change

There are many, including deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels.

🔬 A fiery climate-change study

The Union of Concerned Scientists says Chevron and ExxonMobil caused 37% of burned forest in that region.

Why?
Hot air holds twice as much moisture as cool air, leading to less rainfall. This is called the Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD), which dries vegetation.

Hot air also makes plants lose leaf moisture faster, as they open their pores to exchange CO₂ for oxygen.

🌱 Climate change impacts on wildfires

• Climate change causes dryness and drought.
• Deforestation speeds up drought.
• Drought increases the frequency and spread of wildfires.
• Ecosystems shift, making them more vulnerable to fires.
• People become less prepared to manage the right areas.
• Climate change triggers longer lightning storms during heatwaves, increasing wildfire risk.

🚒 What firefighting measures are happening?

• Cities and districts are taking fossil fuel companies to court.
• Over 100 countries signed a deforestation pledge.
• Research is improving wildfire understanding.
• Managed burning reduces the risk of uncontrollable fires.
• Education helps reduce human-caused ignition.
• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) supports urgent climate projects.

✅ More solutions

• Keep extreme right politicians out of climate decisions.
• Reduce overgrazing to increase vegetation and moisture.
• Create crop fields as fire breaks.
• Promote fair-trade farming to reduce deforestation.

• Plant fewer flammable trees.

🏆 The ultimate solution

We must phase out fossil fuels to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C.

💡 Did you know particles in smoke can stop rain clouds forming? Wildfires are dangerous — let’s work together to prevent them.

…And if you want to read more about what I do in the climate space, then please do check out my services.

Sources: WWF, Earth.org, Copernicus, NASA, EC, Union of Concerned Scientists, Energy Post, Green Climate Fund